D1 College Transfer Rules

First of all he NEEDS a written release from his present school

Has he gotten that?

No, we haven't approached this yet with the school or coach. How does he get a release from the school? Is that standard for any student, or is something special needed for scholarship athletes?

He needs a WRITTEN RELEASE from the Athletic Director of the school he currently attends BEFORE he talks with another school.

What are the chances that the Athletic Director will release him, if…

1.He is offered the same scholarship amount
2.He is offered a lesser scholarship "for the good of the team".

Can they lower his scholarship and then force him to stay with the school?

If he is released, then he will not have to sit out a year. If the school chooses not to release him, then he must sit out one year before returning to play. It should not be a problem if, as you say, he may not be offered his ship next year.

My son got a very good result from going in and talking to his head coach man to man, before getting into the "grapevine"; his coach appreciated it and has been very helpful, even going so far as to personally call the coaches at schools where my son wanted to transfer. I know of situations where coaches have "blown up" when the situation develops. It seems to me it's best if the head coach gets the word from your son, not the grapevine, but there are no guarantees. You can be sure if 2 schools have schollys "available", the grapevine knows he is leaving. The college baseball community has ears everywhere. I know of a situation where a school heard "through the grapevine" a player was interested in transferring to it. It's head coach asked a pro scout what he thought of the player, and the pro scout ran into the player's head coach a week or so later and said "I hear X is looking to transfer". Very ugly meeting followed.

Being up front and honest with the current coach worked very well for my guy. Good luck.